Anglo American Platinum fired 12,000 striking miners

[popeyespappy]

Like I said before; I wouldn't consider that a strike, since the contracts had expired.

What you consider a strike is considerably narrower than how the term is generally applied.

Most strikes are undertaken by labor unions during collective bargaining. The object of collective bargaining is to obtain a contract (an agreement between the union and the company) which may include a no-strike clause which prevents strikes, or penalizes the union and/or the workers if they walk out while the contract is in force. The strike is typically reserved as a threat of last resort during negotiations between the company and the union, which may occur just before, or immediately after, the contract expires.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_acti...of_strikes

You can't strike from work that you aren't currently employed to do.

Here in the US, being employed by a company is separate from any collective bargaining agreement. It is a three way agreement between employee, employer and union.



Lack of a contract between the union and an employer does not automatically terminate the agreement between employer and employee.

There are also multiple occasions when a strike is arranged by a union, despite less than 10% of union members voting for it.

The opposite of that is called a wildcat strike. It is when the union agrees to terms the members do not support. It is my understanding this is the case at Anglo American Platinum.